Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field of data storage devices, and more particularly but without limitation to debris remediation via controlled movements of a sweeping member.
Data storage devices are used in various applications to store data to and retrieve data from a storage medium. The storage medium is disposed in a data transfer relationship with a transducer within an enclosure. The medium is moved relative to the transducer in order to hydrodynamically support the transducer in a spatial disposition a desired distance away from the storage medium surface.
Manufacturers employ extensive measures to keep debris, such as contaminants and particulates, out of the enclosure and particularly away from the space between the storage medium surface and the transducer. For example, manufacturing operations prior to sealing the enclosure are performed in clean room environments. Even so, debris can exist in the enclosure as a remnant of the manufacturing process before sealing the enclosure, or it can be created within the sealed enclosure during operation of the storage device. Thus, it is not unusual for the manufacturer to place a recirculation filter in the enclosure to entrap fluid-borne debris.
The claimed embodiments are directed to sweeping debris away from locations where it migrates near to or onto the data storage medium, so that the debris is more likely to be entrapped by the recirculation filter and less likely to interfere with the fly-height spacing between the transducer and the data storage medium.